5 Easy Crock-Pot Meals for a Mom-on-the-Go

You are busy all day and still want to come home to a warm, home-cooked meal. In perfectland, right? It’s what we all want for our health, our families, our lives… So, what’s a busy mom to do? Put these five Crock Pot meals into your rotation right now and have hot dinners at home all winter long!

1. Chicken Enchiladas a la Crock Pot

In the Morning –

Pop 2 lbs. of chicken breasts into your crock pot. Salt, pepper & jazz up with some chipotle powder. yum! Then, top them with a sliced white onion, 3 cans of enchilada sauce, and 2 cans of chopped green chilies. Set crock pot on low for 8 hours. Your house will smell delicious when you get home!

In the Evening –

Begin heating up your oven to 350.

Reserve 2 cups of broth. Shred the chicken in the crock pot. This will make 2, 9×13 pans of deliciousness! Pull them out and put 1/2 cup of reserved liquid in each pan. Then, put a small portion of chicken mixture down the middle of each tortilla, roll and place in the pan, seam side down. Cover both pans with the rest of the liquids, top with cheese, cover with foil. Pop one in the freezer for next week and bake the other on 350 for 25 minutes.

Beef Barley & Vegetable Stew

In the Morning –

Brown 1 lb. of beef chuck, cut into three pieces, until browned & seasoned on all sides. Put them into the crock pot. Next, add more olive oil to the pan, and sauté 3 heads of minced garlic and 4 sprigs of thyme for a minute until fragrant. Add 2 cups of chicken broth to the pan. Stir up all the browned bits and then throw all of that into the crock pot as well. Halve 1/2 pound of small potatoes, dice 1/2 butternut squash and throw all that into the pot. Add 2 cups of water and 2 more cups of chicken broth to the pot. Throw in 1/2 cup of pearl barley. Set your crock pot on low for 8 hours. When you get home, get ready to dig in to a warm bowl of meat and veggies! Totes delicious!

In the Evening –

Shred the beef with a couple forks. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Done!

Hearty White Chili

In the Morning –

Use a rotisserie chicken or precooked chicken – you will need about 3 cups.

Saute 1 diced onion, and 2 minced garlic cloves until fragrant and soft. Add chicken, onions and garlic to the slow cooker. Add 2 cans of chopped green chilis, and 4 cans of white northern beans. (I found some white beans spiced with jalepenos at the grocery store, that were delicious, but any will work!) Add 8 cups of chicken broth. Add an entire diced jalepeno if you are feeling sassy. Add, 1 1/2 Tbs cumin, 1/2 Tbs Paprika (or Chipotle seasoning), and 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper. Add a dash of salt and cover that baby until tonight.

In the Evening –

You can choose to thicken your chili, but it isn’t necessary. If you want to, 2 tsp of cornmeal to 1 cup of whole milk. Mix it up and pour it into the crock pot and allow it to thicken for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, you can be prepping your toppings. Chop up your onions & avocados, and pull out your shredded cheese and sour cream.

No-Fail Crock Pot Pot Roast

In the Morning –

Take your 5 lb boneless, seasoned beef chuck roast, tie her up and brown that baby in the skillet. Then, put the roast into the crock pot (leaving her tied up).

Add a little more oil to your skillet and dump in your 3 diced onions and 1 pound of chopped carrots. Let these soften nicely, then add 6 minced cloves of garlic. After the garlic is aromatic, add a cup of dry red wine and scrape the bottom of the skillet for all the tasty bits. Simmer until the wine has reduced by half. Dump all that deliciousness into the crock pot as well.

Pour in 2 cups of chicken broth and 1 cup of beef broth…or whatever concoction strikes your fancy. I like to add a few chopped up potatoes at this point as well, because I am a Minnesotan and we can’t have a meal without a starch. Then, add about a 1 Tbs of thyme, 3 bay leaves and some red pepper flakes.

In the Evening –

Throw in some Worcheshire sauce (and pray that you don’t have to say it out loud) and shred the meat with a pair of forks. Place it in front of your cheering family and dig in.

(adapted from Cook’s Illustrated)

Pressure Cooker Risotto

Do you love risotto like I do? I swear, Butternut Squash Risotto is my favorite meal. I love it because it doesn’t take a hundred ingredients that I don’t have, it’s meatless, it warms up splendidly, and tastes yummy! But, on the other hand, if you make it using the traditional stovetop method, it takes at least an hour to make. Urg.

So, here is a way to make risotto, that you can enjoy within one half hour of arriving home from work.

In the evening –

Melt 4 Tbs. butter in the stovetop pressure cooker (open), toss in 1 onion, diced fine. Stir until soft, about 5 minutes. Then, throw in 3 garlic cloves minced, for about 15 seconds. Stir in 2 cups of Arborio rice and cook until edges turn translucent. Add 1 cup of dry white wine and cook until rice has almost absorbed all of the liquid. Add 3 1/2 cups of chicken broth and 1 tsp salt and give it all a good stir.

Lock the lid on the pressure cooker and bring to high pressure over high heat for 4 minutes. WHAT?! 4 minutes!!! Awesome!

Take the pressure cooker from the heat and allow pressure to release for 1 minute. Then, do quick release of the remaining pressure. SAFETY ALERT: Always release AWAY from your pretty, little face!

Stir in 1/2 cup of remaining broth and cook over medium heat. If the rice is tender go on to the next step, if not, add another 1/2 cup and cook until liquid is absorbed.

Take off heat and replace the lid. Allow rice to thicken for another 4 minutes. Take off the lid and add freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and some fresh parsley and lemon juice, if you have it. Salt & pepper to taste.

SIGN UP TODAY for the MINI-MARRIAGE CHALLENGE

Register for a FREE 5-Day Mini-Marriage Workshop. It's packed full of great lessons, encouragement, activities and printables to give you a happy marriage!

YEA! The best way we know to keep your marriage strong is to be proactive! This workshop will give you fun connection points & ideas for activities. ENJOY! Don't forget to check your email to confirm your subscription. (Did it go to your spam folder? Just move it to your primary folder so you can keep getting this great content!)

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

First Name

Email Address

We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.